Things to see and do Aralsk Et L’ouest

In the early 2000s, Aralsk was more than 100 km from the shore. Local initiatives led to the construction of the first dike, which collapsed during a storm. But before it collapsed, the encouraging results prompted the government and the World Bank to support the local population's efforts and, in 2005, to build a full-fledged dam, enabling the water level to rise again. This 13-km dam, separating the northern and southern parts of the Aral Sea, has enabled the former to gain several dozen kilometers of ground lost over the past forty years. The dam itself is not very impressive, but in summer it attracts dozens of fishermen who indulge in veritable fishing miracles at the foot of the dam. A good place to feel the revival that is sweeping through the villages of the northern Aral Sea. And an opportunity to salute a successful local initiative! The expansion project has raised many hopes, not least that Aralsk will one day once again become a genuine fishing port. On the other hand, the presence of the dike irrevocably condemns what remains of the "great sea" to the south, on the Uzbek side. On the Kazakh side, however, the situation is euphoric: the "little sea" has already seen its level rise by almost ten meters and once again occupies more than a third of the surface area it had lost over the past decades. Fishing has resumed, albeit on a small-scale basis, raising the hopes of an entire population.

It's hard to imagine, strolling along the empty streets of this city swept by desert sand, that it was once a thriving port city. And yet, during the Soviet era, Aralsk was the main transit center for cotton: produced in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, it arrived in Aralsk loaded onto large ships that crossed the Aral Sea, before being transported by train to Russia. The town of Aralsk itself is home to a small ship cemetery, where the port once stood. A few rusting hulks lie beside panels bearing poems dedicated to the Aral Sea. You can also venture out onto the sand in the harbour, to wander among the rusty plates, engine parts, pieces of ship's hulls... As you go further on, many more silhouettes of beached boats loom on the horizon, some of them truly impressive in size. Since the fish have disappeared, the wrecks have been taken over by cows and camels, which gather along the hulls in the hottest hours to take advantage of the shade. As the sea retreated, other wrecks remained isolated in what is now a desert. Some are visible, notably around the village of Zhalanash, but you need a 4x4 to venture there. As for the wrecks themselves, don't expect to find them whole: many have been cut up to recover their metal parts.

When you ring the museum doorbell, you feel as if you're entering a private home. But the curator, Madi Jasekenov, is always happy to have visitors, and will be invaluable to Russian-speaking visitors. The museum focuses on the history of the city of Aralsk, right up to its decline in the 1970s. The period photos are interesting, and allow you to compare them with the city's current appearance. Don't miss the section devoted to works by artists inspired by the melancholy landscapes left by the disappearance of the sea.

It was here, in Aralsk and Moynaq, that the Russian Revolution was saved. As famine struck Russia, Lenin mobilized dozens of trains and urged the Aral fishermen to increase their production. International aid, which Lenin eventually accepted, also had a lot to do with it, but the Aralsk railway station has preferred to remember this glorious episode in local history through a fresco in the purest Soviet realist style. A must-see.

Fifty kilometers from Aktau, in the western part of the Mangyshlak peninsula, lies the Karagiye depression, one of the lowest points on the planet, 132 meters below sea level. The high salt content of the soil has accelerated the process of rock erosion, creating a vast depression some 40 kilometers long, above which a strange natural phenomenon occurs: the formation of rain clouds when the depression is devoid of the slightest drop of water. Not an uncommon sight to observe.

If your steps took you to Aktau in November 2017, you may have witnessed the opening of the "time capsule": a letter written by the city's inhabitants and builders in 1967. Buried in a cylinder, hidden in Mikrorayon 2, it contained certain letters and messages written at the time for the attention of future generations. Opened for the ^50th anniversary of the city's foundation in 2017, its contents are on display in the regional museum, and a new capsule has been hidden... next opening in 2067!

The monument to the heroes and victims of the Great Patriotic War takes the form of a circular plaza, decorated on the ground with geometric interlacing and surrounding a second circle on whose edges stand five concrete blocks, representing the five years of war and surrounding an eternal flame. The upper tips of the blocks are inclined, evoking the silhouette of a yurt. A promenade joins the waterfront where a Mig-21 appears to take off facing the Caspian Sea.

Head down to the seafront from the end of the promenade at the Mig memorial. The beaches had their dark days after independence, but have now mostly been cleaned up and redeveloped for leisure. The beaches in the town center are not the most beautiful, but they are there to offer a pleasant setting for a stroll. You'll find more beautiful scenery if you follow the seafront southwards and walk a little beyond mikrorayon 1. Here, the beaches are less crowded and wilder than those in the town center.

There's nothing of note in Mikrorayon 10 from a cultural or architectural point of view, but this district to the east of the regional museum is worth a detour for the gigantic portraits of the "fathers of the nation" that adorn the sides of the buildings. These include Abilay Khan (block no. 19), Tole Bi (block no. 20) and Aytebek Bi (block no. 22). One of the latest portraits is of former president Nursultan Nazarbayev, painted before he left office.

This nature reserve, essentially made up of marshland, is a delight for birdwatchers. Far from industrialization, birds are spoilt for choice when it comes to finding an island where they can nest in peace and quiet. Underwater, it's also one of the last places where Caspian sturgeon can sleep peacefully. In 2012, the reserve was classified as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Visits are therefore regulated.

Striding across the 405 m-long pedestrian bridge over the Ural River is a walk in itself, and a pleasant way of crossing from Asia to Europe on foot, or vice versa. On the European bank, the bridge leads to the Pobedy Park, or Victory Park, a lungful of greenery for this small industrial town, as well as a popular place for strolling and relaxing. Numerous merry-go-rounds and small stalls make it a very popular spot for families on weekends.

Like the Almaty museum, the regional museum houses a "Golden Man". These are the golden weapons and armour of a Sarmatian chief discovered in the Atyrau region in 1999. Other highlights include the reconstruction of a yurt and its traditional interior, and a fresco depicting the region in the distant past when it was criss-crossed by Silk Road caravans. For the rest, there's nothing really exciting to discover.

A hundred kilometers northeast of the small sea lies the Zhamanshin crater, created a million years ago by the impact of a gigantic meteorite, making it one of the most recent and violent on the planet. The crater is almost 15 km long and 300 m deep. The energy released was equivalent to several dozen Hiroshima bombs, and the impact caused fires and smoke that wiped out all plant and animal species within a radius of several hundred kilometers.

Cabs to Fort-Shevchenko leave from the Aktau bus station in the north of the city.

It's a 250 km round trip, but well worth it. The fort occupies the tip of the Mangyshlak peninsula. A small local museum houses many works by the great Ukrainian poet exiled to the shores of the Caspian. The surrounding scenery is perfect for a stroll, provided you ignore the oil companies that occupy part of the coastline. It's all very photogenic.

It's especially worth a visit to discover the results of the many archaeological excavations carried out around Aktau, particularly at the Mangistau site. Ask the museum staff for a few explanations, as the presentation of the exhibits is a little lacking. For the rest, we'll pass quickly over the collections of small everyday objects dating from the ^19th and ^20th centuries and the stuffed animals. Mineral enthusiasts will delight in the fragments of meteorites and semi-precious stones gleaned here and there from the steppe.

The Ustyurt Plateau is a barren strip of land, hostile to the Siberian winds, stretching between the Aral Sea and the Caspian Sea, and covering part of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. It's a completely uninhabited area, with only a few villages surviving, once supplied by Moscow, and now surviving, populated by the last inhabitants who didn't have the opportunity to move elsewhere. The heat is overwhelming in summer and the cold is bitter in winter, especially when the wind blows. In short, it's not exactly a welcoming land, but it does offer some breathtaking scenery, particularly around the shores of the ancient Aral Sea. To explore the Ustyurt plateau, you'll need to hire a 4x4 vehicle. The best starting point is from Aktau, where a number of agencies and hotels can organize excursions. Make sure the driver knows the area well, as there are no roads, only tracks. Ask to push on to Bozjira, one of the country's most remote sites, far from any human activity. For several hundred kilometers, the snow-white chalky stones have taken on hallucinatory shapes, carved by rain and wind, and have become one of the Kazakh mouflon's most prized shelters. You may even be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of one. A true immersion in one of the most ghostly and lunar landscapes imaginable.